Jehovah Mekoddishkem – The Lord Who SanctifiesWho is God - Day 5

Today’s blog is written by Trevor Gach. Read as he challenges us to look at circumstances in which Jehovah Mekoddishkem, The LORD Who Sanctifies, stretches us.

Today’s Reading
“So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord who makes you holy.” (Leviticus 20:7-8 NLT)

“Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NLT)

Sanctified (to be set apart, pure, and holy) is quite the commandment to live up to. In Leviticus, we learn that it is the Lord who sanctifies us. It is not by our own power, or by anything we can humanly do. It is God working in us and through us. To be sanctified means to be unique and separate.

So how do we become separate from this world? How are we to become sanctified? C.S. Lewis said in his book Mere Christianity, “God is forcing us on, up, or to a higher level: putting us in situations where we will have to be very much braver, or more patient, or more loving, than we ever dreamed of being before. It seems to us all unnecessary: but that is because we have not yet the slightest notion of the tremendous thing he means to make of us.” God is doing a work in our lives. He is moving in and taking over – if we let Him! Sanctification is not something that happens in an instant or something that we can force on ourselves. It is the work of God and Him alone. As Leviticus says, we must keep his decrees and put them into practice, then let God start the process of making us holy. Sanctification and salvation are two different things. Although salvation may place us on the right path to heaven, the process of sanctification brings us closer to God while we are on this earth, and prepares us for an eternity with Him.

Reflection
Think about your current circumstances: Are there situations in your life where you feel God is stretching you to dig deeper, press in harder, or step out in faith like never before? This is God’s sanctification process at work in you.

Prayer
God, I am incredibly thankful for the work you have started in my life. I pray that you would continue the process of making me set apart from this world. Help me to be who you say I am, and not who this world says I am. In Jesus’ name, amen.